Paris Agreement in practice: what next for Africa and developing countries?

The report highlights that while African countries have shown ambition in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), they lack the financial resources, technical capacity, and institutional frameworks necessary for implementation. It emphasizes the need for a shift from top-down to bottom-up adaptation strategies, the integration of climate change into national education curricula, and the harmonisation of regional policies, particularly within the East African Community. The document argues for a comprehensive African research agenda to generate evidence-based policies and the use of 'hooks' to align climate action with sustainable development goals to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C.

• African countries' Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are often overly ambitious and lack the necessary resources, technical capacity, and policing mechanisms for successful implementation, even when political will exists.
• Adaptation is frequently neglected in policy development; the report argues that African institutional frameworks are not designed for the cross-cutting nature of climate change and must move toward bottom-up mechanisms involving those directly affected.
• Capacity building for the Paris Agreement must extend beyond finance and technical skills to include education, communication, leadership, and the ability to mobilise domestic expertise, as many INDCs were developed by external consultants.
• To limit global temperature increases to 1.5°C, developing countries must identify 'hooks'—such as energy efficiency or sustainable livelihoods—that link climate action with national development and sustainable development goals.
• Regional policy harmonisation, specifically within the East African Community (EAC), is recommended to leverage economies of scale for renewable energy investments and fast-track the climate agenda.
• There is a critical need for a comprehensive, cooperative African research agenda to map existing knowledge, identify gaps, and create a funding system to implement research-based recommendations.

APA

Climate Strategies (2016). Paris Agreement in practice: what next for Africa and developing countries? https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCPC-2016-Report-Final.pdf

Chicago

Climate Strategies. Paris Agreement in practice: what next for Africa and developing countries? 2016. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCPC-2016-Report-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Strategies |title=Paris Agreement in practice: what next for Africa and developing countries? |date=October 2016 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCPC-2016-Report-Final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatestrategies2016paris, author = {{Climate Strategies}}, title = {{Paris Agreement in practice: what next for Africa and developing countries?}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/GCPC-2016-Report-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }